Legacies of Love
by cecilyp7
Summary: She wanted an airbender to come and sweep her off her feet, and take her breath away, too.


**So here I go again, with my crazy ideas of one shots. This is my absolute favorite. I took a lot of time and effort into picking the names for the characters in my little story. **

**Sura - green leaf, new life. It's an Inuit name.**

**Kalden - of the golden age. It's a Tibetan name. **

**I hope you all love this. I can't stop reading it myself. I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

* * *

"Sokka! Give me my dolly back!" Katara said, flailing her arms up in the air, her little legs trying to keep up with her older brother.

"Not a chance, little sis!" Sokka teased back, suddenly skidding to a stop. He held the ragged doll up high above his head. "You have to jump for it!"

Katara scowled at him, her nose scrunching up in what she thought was menacing. But it just made Sokka laugh even harder.

"Come on, jump!"

She grabbed onto a piece of his blue water tribe shirt, trying to boost herself up to where he was holding the doll. "I'm too little! Stop! Give her back!"

"Say please!" Sokka teased even more, wiggling the doll in his hand. Katara was on the verge of crying.

"Please! Please!" She cried, her voice extremely whiny and rather loud.

"Sokka! Give it back to her!" A shrill voice said behind him, making Sokka flinch in fear. He brought down the stolen doll, Katara snatching it quickly out of his hand. He turned around, only to face the scowling face of his mother, Kya.

"Now, apologize. You know better than that." She scolded, the sound of her foot tapping on the ice cutting through the silence.

"I'm sorry..."

"For?" She prodded.

"Stealing your doll, Katara." Sokka said, rolling his eyes.

Katara sniffled. "It's okay. I forgive you."

Sokka turned around to pick up his boomerang, a gift from his father about a week ago. Earlier, Katara decided herself to pick it up and throw it to see if it worked, therefore prompting Sokka to steal her doll out of vengeance. Kya rolled her eyes, and brought a soft hand to rest on Sokka's head.

"Sokka, your father is waiting for you to go midnight fishing with him." She said, grabbing his fur parka off the ground, putting it hastily on his shoulders.

"Mom! I'm nine years old! I think I can put my own jacket on!" He yelled, squirming out of her grasp. She chuckled to herself, and watched him as he put his arm through the hole where his head was supposed to go. With his tongue sticking out in concentration, and after a few short minutes, he finally figured out how to pull his parka on.

"See?" He said, smiling up at her.

"Well, I guess my little warrior is finally growing up!" She said, grabbing him swiftly into a bear hug. He giggled and leaned up to kiss her on the cheek.

"Sokka? Are you ready to go?" His father yelled from outside of their hut. Kya released him and brought his hood up, tying the strings by his neck to hold it in place.

"Be safe, and listen to your father." She told him, kissing his forehead.

"I will! We'll bring back the biggest tiger-seal you've ever seen! Enough to make a lifetime supply of jerky!" He yelled, his arms rising in excitement over the concept of having exemplary amounts of his favorite snack.

"I love you!" Kya yelled after him, catching him just before he ran out of the house.

"Love you too!" He echoed back.

Kya sat down near the hearth of the kindling fire, running her hands over the fur pelts she was sitting on. Katara walked over, and took a seat in her mother's lap.

"Momma, when can I go with Sokka and daddy on their fishing trips?" She asked, innocently looking up at Kya, who let out a laugh.

"Oh, why would you want to go and get all smelly with your brother and father when you can stay in here with me?" She said, wrapping her arms around her small daughter. Katara let out a gleeful laugh, and even more when her mother started tickling her.

"That is true. Sokka is always smelly." Katara said, releasing a small yawn. Kya caught it and gently stood up, lifting her daughter into her arms.

"Uh oh! Somebody's tired!"

Katara pouted. "I am not! It wasn't even a big yawn!"

"Come on my little waterbender. Bedtime." She said, turning into her children's tiny room. She set Katara down on her bed of caribou-bear fur, pulling up a stitched fleece blanket Gran Gran made for Katara. Kya bent down and kissed her daughter on the cheek.

"Mom?" Katara said, her eyes wide with no trace of sleep in them. Kya instantly recognized this look.

"Yes?"

"Can you tell me a bedtime story?"

"Of course I can." Kya told her, giving her a warm smile. "What kind of story do you feel like listening to? Adventure? Mystery? Romance?"

Katara squinted her eyes as if she were deep in thought. "Hmm…Romance!"

Kya let out an airy laugh. "Good choice. Hmm…lets see." She pondered about which story to tell Katara. She's told so many, that thinking of ones that she hasn't told Katara has become a quite a task. There is one...however. A grin spreads across Kya's face. How she could possibly forget this story is beyond her.

"Okay, the story I'm about to tell you...is true. It happened thousands of years ago." Kya began, Katara's eyes opening wide in wonder.

"There was a beautiful waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe. Tall, long brown hair, dark skin, and bright blue eyes. Like you." Kya poked Katara's nose, prompting a few giggles.

"Her name was Sura. And she was the Avatar. She discovered it on her sixteenth birthday, as all Avatars do. At first, she was upset. When the elders told her, she ran away."

"Why did she run away?" Katara questioned.

"Because. She didn't want to believe that she was the Avatar. She missed being able to see her friends. She missed being just a normal girl. So one dark moonless night, she got into her canoe and left. She was stranded in the middle of the South Ocean for days, with no food or fresh water. She didn't think she was going to make it."

"Oh no." Katara brought her hands to her mouth nervously.

"The Southern Water Tribe elders sent notices to all the other nations, begging for their help to find Sura. The Southern Air Temple, which was the closest nation to them, responded, sending a bunch of their Airbenders out to search for the young Avatar. After a few days, they began to lose hope."

"Did she die?" Katara interrupted, fully engrossed in the story. Kya just laughed at her daughter's quick affinity for the story.

"No, she didn't die. She was saved."

Katara gasped. "By who?"

Kya grinned. "After looking for days, most of the Airbenders gave up their search. Except one. His name was Kalden. He was seventeen, and a master airbender, his arrow tattoos fresh. He didn't want to give up looking for Sura. He had hope. And, one day, when sunset was approaching, he spotted Sura and her boat floating about fifty miles away from the South Pole. She was unconscious, famished from lack of water and food. He quickly picked her up and held on to her with all his might as he flew her back to the Southern Water Tribe on his glider."

Katara let out a relaxed sigh, relieved.

"Kalden was praised for Sura's rescue, and to be a gentleman, he never left her side when she was resting. Then, after a few long days, she finally woke up. His face was the first she saw. You could call it, love at first sight."

Katara smiled dreamily. "Was he handsome?"

Kya laughed. "Oh, yes. He was very tall and slender, but quite well built. He had bright hazel eyes that twinkled when the sun hit them at the perfect angle. And he had the most vibrant smile. It was the first time Sura saw an airbender, and he took her breath away. He remained in the South Pole for a few weeks, helping out Sura and getting her back into shape. He was such a gentleman. But, as quickly as he came, he left."

"Why would he leave? Didn't he love her too?" Katara asked.

"He did. But he was afraid. He was afraid she didn't love him back. So he left. He was used to traveling, he was a nomad after all."

"But she did! She did love him back!" Katara said, somewhat upset. Kya placed a hand on her cheek.

"Don't worry. It gets better. Sura was heartbroken. But, his leaving lit a fire inside of her. She was no longer afraid of her destiny of being the Avatar. And, the first thing she did was pack up her things, and left for the Earth Kingdom to learn Earth bending. She was already quite the waterbender. After a few months studying the art of bending the Earth, she traveled to the Fire Nation, and there she learned firebending. It took her quite a while, about a year to perfect it. It was the most difficult element for her to learn. But, eventually, it came to her."

"The firebenders helped her?" Katara asked, confused.

"Things were different back then." Kya simply responded, pausing to recollect her thoughts.

"After mastering both earth and fire, it was time for her to master the last element of the cycle; air. She had forgotten all about Kalden, and she was sent to the Southern Air Temple, the same temple Kalden was from. To her surprise, she discovered that her airbending teacher was in fact, Kalden himself."

"Oh!" Katara gleefully cheered, clasping her hands together.

Kya chuckled. "That same bewildered and tingling feeling Sura felt when she met Kalden those years ago came rushing back. She found it very difficult to focus on her airbending, Kalden being very distracting for her. The elder Monks quickly noticed both Kalden and Sura's interest in each other, and abruptly gave Sura a new teacher. They ended up sending Kalden all the way to the Northern Air Temple. Sura was very upset, and she found focusing on her airbending even tougher."

"That's not fair!" Katara said, her eyes scrunched up in anger.

"It was indeed a terrible thing, separating two lovers. But, that's the funny thing about love. It always finds a way. Sura eventually refused the teachings of her new instructor, locking herself up in her room given to her by the Monks. Then, one night, she was startled awake by the sound of someone slipping through her window. She jumped out of bed, ready to attack the intruder, when she recognized the familiar eyes gleaming down at her. Kalden lied about his departure to the Northern Air Temple, and ended up hiding in the high hills of the Southern Air Temple."

Katara's lips broke into a grin. Kya couldn't help but smile back.

"Kalden hugged her and held her tight, and Sura cried tears of joy, and, with every inch of bravery she had in her, she told Kalden that she loved him. He pulled her into a passionate kiss, and when they broke apart, he told her he loved her too."

"Oh..." Katara hummed, her hands entwined together. "How romantic."

"That same night, Kalden and Sura ran away to a small town in the Earth Kingdom, away from the strict rules of the Monks and the elders. There, he continued to teach her airbending, and very soon after that, she was a master, and a fully realized Avatar. Even though they were initially scolded for running away and pursing a love that was very much scandalous at the time, they were eventually allowed to marry."

Katara squealed in pure bliss.

"The era of Avatar Sura was a peaceful time period, the four Nations in pure harmony. She was one of the greatest Avatars the world had ever seen in quite sometime. And Kalden was by her side every step of the way. They grew old together, and eventually, like all living things do, passed away. But, their legacy and love was never forgotten." Kya finished, taking a deep breath in her accomplishment of telling her daughter her favorite love story.

"I loved that story, Mommy." Katara whispered, letting out a large yawn.

"I'm glad. Now, let's get some sleep." Kya whispered back, leaning down to kiss Katara on the forehead. She stood up and began walking out of the room, when Katara unexpectedly spoke.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, my dear?"

Katara sighed. "Do you think I will ever have a grand love story as great as that one?"

Kya chuckled. "Everyone has their own love story. I know you will meet a man that will make you the happiest girl in the world. If he doesn't, he'll have to come talk to me." Katara giggled.

Kya began to walk away again, but was stopped once more.

"Mom?"

"Hmm?"

"I want an airbender to come and sweep me off my feet and take my breath away too." Katara's voice cracked, knowing that the very idea was pretty impossible now, with no Airbenders left.

Kya felt her eyes slightly water up. She turned around and sat back down on her daughter's bed, placing a hand on Katara's cheek.

"I wish there were Airbenders left." Katara continued.

Kya contemplated her response. A small smile tugged at her lips. "They say the last Avatar reincarnation was supposed to be an Air nomad. But, if all the Airbenders are gone, then why isn't there a new Water Tribe Avatar?"

Katara looked up, her eyebrows raised in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"There's still hope. I believe that somewhere, anywhere, there is an airbending boy waiting for someone to find him. Who knows? Maybe he's waiting for you. Never give up hope, Katara. Destiny has a funny way of working out." Kya bent down for what seemed like the sixth time tonight and kissed Katara on the cheek.

"Goodnight, my little waterbender. Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight...Mommy. I...love you." Katara whispered, sleep engulfing her. In just a few minutes, she was fast asleep, her lips curled into a content smile.

That night, Katara dreamed of a dashing young man with blue tattoos in the shape of arrows running across his entire body. He had a huge smile and beautiful grey eyes that sparkled when the light hit them just right. Only instead of him saving her, like Kalden did with Sura, she was saving him.

**o0o0o0o**

Katara let the cool nighttime breeze hit her face. The smell of cherry blossom filled her nostrils. She took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling slowly. She was thinking about her mother. Only this time, a memory that has long been buried in the back of her mind resurfaced. She couldn't believe she forgot about the night her mother told her one of the most fascinating stories her little eight-year-old brain could wrap around. She couldn't help but giggle at the thought. It was as if the love story her mother told her twisted and turned perfectly, becoming almost parallel to hers.

It has been ten years since the end of the war. She was a happily married young woman, to a rather suave and dashing young man. Speaking of that young man, where in the spirits was he?

As if to answer her question, a pair of arms with familiar blue tattoos wrapped themselves around her waist.

"What are you doing out here in the cold?" Aang asked, kissing her cheek. She giggled and turned around, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Just thinking." She gave him a light kiss on the lips.

"Oh? And what might Miss Katara be thinking about?" He asked, his eyebrows rising playfully.

She bit her lip, blushing. He bent down and kissed her crimson cheek.

"Aang, do you want to hear a story? It was one my mother once told me when I was a little girl." Katara asked, gazing up into his eyes. He grinned her favorite smile and nodded.

"I would want nothing more." He whispered, leaning his forehead on hers. "What kind of story is it?"

She blushed again. "A love story."

He brought his face even closer, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke. "Oh, good. Those are my favorite."

And with that, he sealed the remaining space between them with his lips gently pressed upon hers. She pulled away, giggling.

"What's so funny?" He asked, his head cocking to the side.

"This story...I'm sure you'll find it boring. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Of course! Why would I think it would be boring?"

"Well, you'll probably feel as if you've heard it before..." Katara said, trying to suppress her smile.

"What's it about?" He asked.

"It's the story of Avatar Sura and Kalden." She told him.

"Never heard it. So, don't worry. I could never be bored. Not if you're the one telling it. If Sokka was, then well... That's a different story." Aang said with a laugh.

She laughed along with him. "Alright, I'll tell you. But if you start getting some feelings of Déjà vu don't say I didn't warn you."

And with that, they sat underneath the star-riddled night sky, their legs hanging off one of the many cliffs in the Southern Air Temple. There, Katara told Aang the story of Avatar Sura and Kalden, their legacy and love surely to never be forgotten.


End file.
